L.A.-area store owner sells winning Powerball ticket

Updated 10:20 pm, Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle

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A sign advertising the Powerball lottery is seen outside Miraloma Market in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. The sign reads 999 million, although it is actually 1.5 billion dollars.

A sign advertising the Powerball lottery is seen outside Miraloma Market in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. The sign reads 999 million, although it is actually 1.5 billion dollars.

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle

Image 2 of 4

Samuel Williams (left) and Patrick Ryan (right) walk out of Miraloma Market after purchasing Powerball lottery tickets, in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

Samuel Williams (left) and Patrick Ryan (right) walk out of Miraloma Market after purchasing Powerball lottery tickets, in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

The Almighty might have been the only soul in Chino Hills, a small community in the southwest corner of San Bernardino County, who did not buy a Powerball ticket this week for the record $1.6 billion drawing Wednesday night.

For the past three days, store employees said, the line of Powerball ticket buyers stretched out the front door of the store and around the side of the building. Hundreds of buyers, maybe thousands.

“It’s funny, but when a store sells a jackpot ticket, people feel it’s lucky and business goes up,” Lopez said.

Speaking on KTVU, Lopez said jackpot-winning tickets were also sold in Florida and Tennessee, meaning the big payoff will be split at least three ways.

Estimated jackpot amounts, which are released daily, have been steadily rising since Nov. 4, when the jackpot was reset at $40 million.

Farooqui, the clerk, said Atwal is a good boss and he added that he hopes he’s the kind of good boss who believes in sharing good fortune with good employees such as, for instance, himself.

“That would make me very happy,” he said.

In the Bay Area, there were at least three tickets sold that matched five winning numbers. Those tickets were sold in Santa Rosa, Cloverdale and Vacaville. The names of the winners and their states of consciousness were not immediately known.

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